


Hilda and the Cryptids

by BlackMaskJack



Series: Another way [1]
Category: Hilda (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood, Friendship, Horror, Post-Canon, Relationship(s), Suspense, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:22:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23915992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMaskJack/pseuds/BlackMaskJack
Summary: After the black dog events. A series of major events will occur, giving rise to the arrival of mysterious creatures that will cause quite large problems throughout Trollberg.
Series: Another way [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723867
Kudos: 10





	1. I - The Moth Man

**Hey hello, welcome to this project. This is a translation of my fanfic. All credit for the work of translating the story goes to Newgame LD. Thank you very much, mate.**

* * *

**Chapter I-1 - Night’s Cloak**

* * *

The Huldrawood - Night

Only the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves broke the silence of the Huldrawood, just as it was on any night at this time of year in Trolberg. However, in the middle of it was a lone pigtail teenager who was en route to a familiar spot to meet up with her friends, completely undeterred by the dark forest.

On this very night, a meeting was underway. She possessed knowledge of a new way to create fuel for nightmares. But she intended to change things up by putting aside the usuals, like Spiders, ghosts, wolves, and trolls. At this point, that stuff was getting old.

It had been a tough go since she left the boy who was afraid of everything and easy to scare, and finding another child to scare and tell her friends about it had been proving difficult.

She missed it a lot. The new child of his gang had only one fear, but not like the boy from before. Only a monster made of bones could scare him. It wasn’t the same as scaring the other kid, but it was better than nothing.

“If it weren’t for that meddling blue-haired girl…” She thought as she left that boy scared.

A strange sound suddenly snapped her out of her reflections. The marra looked around, scrutinizing every leaf on every tree. It seemed as though a gust of wind blew right past her. But she couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

Brushing that aside, she proceeded along the path, only to soon hear another loud gust of wind blow through the leaves. This time, she turned around to make sure that she wasn’t followed by anyone suspicious.

But when she turned back to face forward, the gust came from behind her, causing her pigtails to jerk around in the wind. Turning back, she found… nothing. Again. Nothing but sky.

But… something was off. There was a part of the sky with no stars in it. She looked upon that spot for a few moments, right before a winged shadow suddenly flew out from it and swept past her, knocking her onto her back.

She had just enough time to see it spread its wings and fly into the darkness. It also had two large red dots which she could only assume might have been eyes. But within seconds, it vanished into the night.

“Strange…” She muttered.

* * *

David’s House - Nighttime

David had finally made it home, exhausted from his adventure of saving a talking flower. He was ready for bed, only until his father stopped him for the usual inspection for bugs on him. Turns out a small beetle got on him on his way back. Nothing to freak out about.

Now in his PJs and in the comforts of his bed, it was time to go to sleep.

“Good night, Warren.” David said, hugging his teddy bear.

He closed his eyes and slowly drifted off into sleep. But the tranquility didn’t last long, as two large red lights illuminated the window next to his bed.

David couldn’t sleep with this bright red light shining through his eyelids. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that his room was mostly illuminated in a crimson glow. Looking at his hands, they were brightly lit up by this red light.

“Wh-what is this?!” David cried, looking upon his hands. He turned to his right to face the origin of the light.

It was a large, thin creature with large antennae on its head, looking at him with red glowing eyes which seemed reminiscent of bike reflectors. It was so bright that his eyes ached from staring at it any longer than a few seconds at a time.

After taking a moment to rub his eyes, he saw that the creature had two wings that looked like its arms at first glance, but was actually separate. Its big wings on its back and its flabby arms hung down, seemingly limp.

This scene lasted for a few seconds, ending with the creature making a crouching motion, pulling its wings up as high as it could, then swinging them down quickly, and darting upward into the night sky, leaving David horrified.

He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight...

* * *

The Next Morning...

Hilda and Frida were on their way to David’s house, talking about plans to earn more Sparrow Scout badges and ones that didn’t even exist yet.

“What makes you think a cactus can also speak?” Frida asked

“Maybe they’re just too shy to talk to us for now.” Hilda replies, looking at a cactus in a pot.

“Maybe not all plants can speak.” Frida suggests as she rings the doorbell. David’s mother opens the door and invites Hilda and Frida inside, greeting them as they entered.  
  


“David’s inside. He hasn’t ate breakfast yet. Could you ask him to come out?” David’s mother asked, looking toward her son’s bedroom door.

“Sure.” Both girls answered. Hilda knocked on David’s door, listening in for a response.

“Aah… wh-who is it?” David answered from the inside.

“It’s us. Hilda and Frida. Can we come in?” Hilda asked.

“Ermm, it’s fine. Go ahead. Come in.” David answered.

Hilda and Frida exchanged glances for a moment before entering. They were stunned to see David all disheveled and building a tower of cards on his desk, as well as the sheets hung up to cover his window.

“H-hey there.” David waved without taking his eyes off the card tower.

“David. What’s going on?” Hilda asked.

“I-I just had a h-horrible nightmare. I’m just… building this tower again to… calm down.” David explained, putting the last two cards in place.

“A horrible nightmare? But… you haven’t had a nightmare like this since we got the Marra off you, right?” Frida gasped.

“Did she come back?” Hilda asked.

“I don’t know.” David replied. “But… the nightmare felt… very real.”

“How real?” Hilda tilted her head.

“It felt as though I was wide awake.”

“And… what happened in the nightmare?” Frida asked, turning toward the covered window.

“There were these… red lights shining through the window. It was this monster with huge wings and… r-r-red eyes. It was scary…” David replied.

“But… why did you put the sheet on the window if you knew it wasn’t real?” Hilda asked.

“It felt too real. I can’t bring myself to look out there…” David whimpered.

“There’s no way of knowing that this is the work of a marra.”

“We can’t take any chances. If it is, we’ll just do the same thing we did last time.” Hilda replied.

“But they’ll probably know we’re onto them.” Frida cautioned.

“We’ll just have to find them and see what’s going on.” Hilda replied as she braced her hand against David’s desk, inadvertently knocking over David’s card tower. “Aah. Sorry, David.”

“It’s fine. It came apart eight or so times.” David replied. Hilda and Frida exchanged more worried glances at each other.

* * *

Sparrow Scout HQ

Shortly before they arrived, the trio were discussing ideas to earn Hilda more badges and what activities they could do. They arrived in time to see Raven Leader lining everyone up into teams.

“Hilda, David, Frida. You’re right on time. Form a team and await my instruction.” Raven Leader called out.

“Whew… talk about cutting it close.” Frida sighed in relief. She and her friends - obviously - joined together in their usual team. “Now then, we need to formulate a plan to earn more badges. Any ideas?”

“How about we do the activities during the day this time?” David suggested.

“Why during the day? Almost all of us do it at night.” Hilda replied.

“I-I just thought the day was safer. It doesn’t remind me of my nightmare.” David protested.

“Lighten up, David. It was only a nightmare. It wasn’t real.”

“B-but it felt real.”

“Very well. Once we’re done with the activities, I’ll go straight to the Huldrawood and have a chat with the Marra.”

“The Huldrawood? You mean the home of the flying monster?” Someone else called out.

“‘Flying monster’?” Hilda replied, turning to face another scout, bewildered.

“Yeah, the flying monster that lives in that forest. It’s said that deep in the Huldrawood, there’s a terrible monster that can eat you in just two bites.” The scout explained.

“So there is a monster in that forest, isn’t there?”

“Yeah, but… from what I’ve heard, the last sighting was no less than fifty years ago. It’s unlikely that it’s still around anymore.”

“Did you hear that?! That must be what the Marra used to make your nightmare!” Hilda explained to her friends.

“They’re really stepping up their game, aren’t they...?” David muttered.

“Sparrows, your attention please.” Raven Leader called out, gathering the entire troupe. “Today’s activity is to collect a rare species of flower that blooms this season.”

She pulls out a bag containing a particular red flower that hasn’t fully grown. “You’re looking for the Glistening Flower.” She explained.

“Wow! How pretty.” Hilda remarked.

“Now, this type of flower can grow anywhere within the walls of Trolberg, so it won’t be hard to find. Try and gather as many as you can.” Raven Leader instructed. “Dismissed.”

* * *

Trolberg Streets - Flower Shop

A few minutes later, Hilda and co. were out searching for a Glistening Flower.

“It says here that these flowers are often used as a substitute for candles in Jack-o- lanterns. It comes in handy under a full moon. It somehow makes it give off a very bright light.” Frida pointed out, referring to a catalog in the shop.

“It’s like magic.” David remarked.

“Agreed.” Frida responded. “It also says here that they have another way of growing. That other way is based on who plucks it from the ground.”

“How’s that?” Hilda inquired.

“According to this, if the subject has a common desire and/or feeling, the flower will grow right in his hands, which is indicative of the flower believing that that desire or feeling will be fulfilled.” Frida explained.

“That sounds fantastic. I look forward to seeing them grow.” Hilda said.

“Well, we’ll just have to wait until the next full moon, and we’ll see them bloom.” Frida replied.

“Now then, we just have to find some of those flowers. They could be anywhere.” Hilda began.  
  


The trio continued to explore half the city in search of those flowers. The streets, the gardens, the parks, but disappointingly, they came up completely empty handed… But Hilda wasn’t one to give up. She suggested searching the place where they first met the Vittra.

* * *

Wall Park - Vittra Territory - Late Afternoon

During their search, Hilda split off from the group to try and cover more ground. She searched every bush, every tree, until she eventually stumbled upon the hole that led into the Vittra tunnels.

Hilda, in the middle of her searches, began to consider why David’s nightmares came back. Was it even a nightmare? What if David really saw some unknown creature? Or perhaps the Marra who tormented David came back for whatever reason? But in the middle of her thoughts, she wasn’t watching where she was going and slammed her face right into a tree branch.

Annoyed, she removed the branch from her face and brushed the leaves out of her face and hair. But after nursing the impact area for a bit, Twig suddenly began tugging at her skirt. “What is it boy?”

Twig suddenly darted toward the hole and pointed out a small red sprout not far from the hole. Now surprised, she approached the sprout and got a closer look. It seemed to only have very recently sprouted and was awaiting the full moon. Her pupils widened at the sight of such a thing.

“David! Frida! I found one!” She called out. Upon hearing her, Frida and David arrived on the scene as fast as they could.

“It’s really small.” Frida pointed out as she crouched to get a better look at it.

“Hey! Check this out!” David called. Hilda and Frida turned to David. They got to where he was, fixing their eyes on what David saw. They discovered a huge field of Glistening Flowers. Many of the sprouts were of similar size, but one of them was huge. But Hilda noticed that the sprout that she found seemed really small by comparison.

“Perfect. Now, we only have to take a few, and nobody will notice.” Frida chuckled, clasping her hands together.

“I’ll keep mine. It’s like a baby.” Hilda said, delicately taking the little sprout.

David left for a moment to grab their cart with various gardening tools and began assisting the others with carefully and painstakingly removing several sprouts from the ground and filling their cart. It was quite a tedious process.

“Excellent. We might just be the first to get badges.” Frida said, triumphantly.

“We just gotta bring them to Scout Hall now.” David replied.

Upon hearing this, Hilda remembered something. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Why?” Frida asked.

“Well, I did say when we’re done, I’ll go straight to the Huldrawood.” Hilda explained.

“But it’s still daytime. The Marras gather at night.” David reminded Hilda.

“I know, but I can wait until they arrive.” Hilda replied. “I’ll just intercept the one I need to talk to.”

“But you’ll be waiting for hours.” Frida also reminded Hilda.

“There’s always a chance they’ll come early.” Hilda replied back and soon took off. But she realized she still had the sprout. “Oh! I almost forgot. Here’s the baby sprout.”

“Oh, no no no. You can keep it.” Frida said.

“You found it, after all.” David seconded.

Hilda, looking at the understanding faces of her friends, gave a smile. She stuffed the sprout into her bag and took off.

“Thanks, guys!” Hilda waved as she ran off.

* * *

The Huldrawood - Evening

Hilda dashed through the city without any hint of exhaustion until she reached the stone boundaries of the Huldrawood. She put on her game face, now walking toward the door, which was now open.

She steps through the door and hides behind a tree, keeping her distance and giving herself a good vantage point to see who enters, but keeping stealthy.

Minutes passed. Some people came and went, but none of them resembled any of the girls that she saw in the Marra gang. More minutes passed, then hours. The sun had set. But she kept her eyes peeled on that entryway.

* * *

Sundown

Even Twig was starting to get bored. “ ***sigh*** I guess not…” Hilda groaned, taking her eyes off the door and began to rummage through her pouch. It had her sketchbook, her pencil, a flashlight, and the sprout that she found. She looked upon it, smiling. The stars began to appear in the sky as night fell. “I hope you grow up to be a huge flower.”

She looks at it again, noting its small and delicate shape.

**BOOSH!**

The sudden noise that rang out made Hilda and Twig jump. She quickly got back up to her perch and surveyed the entrance. This time, it was what she was waiting for. It was the Marra that gave David nightmares.

The Marra began walking as Hilda silently and quickly put her things away, put on her bag, and began pursuit, keeping enough of a distance to not get noticed.

Hilda carefully and quickly trailed the Marra who remained clueless to Hilda’s presence until they reached the campfire site where the other Marras were to meet.

The Marra stopped for a moment to look at the extinguished fire, giving Hilda a moment to get a little closer until she could see the Marra and the fire. The former continued walking anyway. Hilda took this moment to emerge from her hiding spot. “Hey you! Stop right there!” She shouted. Twig began growling.

The sudden outburst caused the Marra to wince. She was ticked to hear that familiar voice again, and turned to face her. “You again.” She growled.

“Yes, me again.” Hilda replied, placing her hands on her hips. “Are you giving my friend nightmares, again?”

Hearing this, the Marra’s irritated expression turned into one of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You said it was no fun giving kids nightmares when they ask for them.” Hilda explained.

“Of course I did. So I have no business giving that David kid nightmares.” The pigtail girl replied.

“And yet, here we are.” Hilda retorted. “David had a nightmare again, and who else would give those kinds of nightmares other than you?”

“I haven’t even been to his house in months.” The Marra explained, assuming her Marra form.

“I find that hard to believe. David would never lie to me.” Hilda grunted indignantly.

They stared at each other, angrily, and hardly even blinking.

But after a period of silence, a familiar sound suddenly startled the Marra. The sound of leaves suddenly rushing abruptly. The Marra turned away from Hilda to focus on the trees. Hilda barely seemed fazed by the sound. “What? You gonna-” Hilda began, but she saw that Twig too was on high alert. Now Hilda was concerned with what’s going on.

They all looked at the trees which seemed to shake violently. It wasn’t even that windy, so the discrepancy was concerning. Suddenly, the loud sound of flapping wings filled the air, followed by a gust of wind blowing past them, and then the sound of something crashing into the ground came from behind them.

They all turned around and discovered a two-meter-tall creature with large wings on its back, legs, and thin arms covered with fur. The creature seemed dead silent. But the strange thing was that its eyes seemed to be closed.

Hilda was surprised to see such a strange creature that she had no idea about. But both Twig and the Marra were frozen in fear.

When the Marra took a small step back, the creature suddenly sprung to life, opening its large red eyes, looking at the girl’s green eyes, and darted toward her with unmatched speed.

The Marra let out a yelp, poofing into Marra Dust and fleeing the scene. After seeing this, Hilda nervously strayed clear of the creature’s path. But when the creature saw how the girl turned into Marra Dust, it wasted no time and pursued it.

Hilda looked up to see the chase continue into the air. It seemed to dart across the sky, which would soon turn too dark to see any more of it.

The Marra tried very hard to lose the creature, going anywhere in the forest to try and hide. But she simply couldn’t shake the creature off her tail.

* * *

Night

The sky now became too dark to see anything other than green mist darting wildly around the sky and forest. Hilda tried to flash her flashlight up there to get a better look. But as expected, her flashlight wouldn’t reach. That said, she started for home.

Meanwhile, the Marra was running out of ideas, seeing as how the creature was gaining on her. She continued to make passes through the forest, soon passing where Hilda was. But when the creature passed by, it detected a bright light from below. The creature looked back, inadvertently allowing the Marra to get away.

Hilda was surprised to see the creature stop right in front of her. She was able to observe it in greater detail. It looked like a hairy, insect-like man with large grey wings. But amidst her curiosity, the creature suddenly darted toward Hilda, scaring her into dropping her flashlight and falling on her back.

When she recovered, she saw the creature land quickly in front of her. Her flashlight was pointed right at her, just beyond the creature’s line of sight, illuminating her. It slowly approached her as she backed up, eventually hitting a tree. She noticed that the creature gave off lights from its eyes. They were so bright that Hilda had to close her eyes.

Moments later, while her eyes were shut, she heard a loud flap and felt a gust of wind. She opened her eyes, but could hardly see anything. When her eyes adjusted, the creature was gone, and her flashlight was off.

While she was trying to comprehend what just happened, she got up and began looking for Twig and found him hiding behind a tree, quivering with fear. “C’mon, boy. L-let’s get out of here.” Hilda stuttered.

On her way out, she decided to keep her flashlight off for the time being. It helped that the moon finally rose. But on her way out, she realized something. David’s words echoed in her head.

* * *

Flashback

“There were these… red lights shining through the window. It was this monster with huge wings and… r-r-red eyes. It was scary…”

* * *

Present

This matched what David said he saw. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. What David saw was not a nightmare at all! But with one answered question comes another one. What exactly is that creature? She wouldn’t rest until she finds an answer…

* * *

Meanwhile, the Marra who escaped landed at the foot of a tall tree. She reverted to human form, panting in exhaustion. She hadn’t had such a long chase in a while. She kept her eyes on the sky, hoping to god to not see that… thing again.

Letting out a long breath, she wondered for a moment why that thing chased her through most of the forest without any explanation as to why. She didn’t even do anything to that creature.

And also, why did that blue-haired girl go after her again? Was she delusional? Whatever the case, if it wasn’t for her flashlight, she might not have been able to escape, and god only knows what would’ve happened next.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a green light in the distance. Knowing what it was, she started for it. “There’s no time to think about meaningless things.” She thought as she walked along. “Only our preliminary meeting is important now.”

* * *

**To be continued…**


	2. Dark Omen

The Library - Night

  
Hilda ran with Twig through the city in search of a known building, passing streets until she reached the Library. The lights were still on, and it wasn’t closing time yet.

  
Hilda goes inside, panting loudly. But she was hushed by other readers around.

  
“Sorry…” She responded. Having caught her breath, she headed to the one person she could trust with situations like this. She found the Librarian sorting books and went to her. “Um… excuse me…?”

  
“Shhh, we’re in quiet time.” The Librarian hushed.

  
“Sorry, I was just wondering if…”

  
“Sorry, we don’t have that book.” The Librarian interrupted.

  
“What …? But I wasn’t-”

  
The Librarian cut her off by suddenly turning her direction sharply. She had a serious expression and began approaching Hilda’s ear to utter only a few words.

  
“You must leave here. Now!” The Librarian sternly instructed. “You can return here tomorrow, and I promise I’ll show you the book you’re looking for.”

  
After she finished speaking, she turned back to what she was doing. Hilda was so confused that she was gonna ask further, but the Librarian put a finger over her mouth, making a signal to keep quiet.

  
Hilda began to take note of the situation, so she fell silent as she lowered her head as a sign that she understood. The Librarian continued her work elsewhere.

* * *

Trolberg Streets

  
Hilda and Twig, with a little confusion, started for home. It was getting late, so Hilda decided to head straight home. The journey back was surprisingly uneventful. She half-expected to see that unknown creature flying, but no.

* * *

Hilda’s Apartment

  
She continued until she reached her home’s street. Hoping that mum wasn’t asleep already, she rang the doorbell.

  
It wasn’t long before her mum, Johanna, came down and opened the door. She looked around for a bit, the down toward her daughter. “Oh! Hilda, you’re home early.” Johanna greeted.

  
“You can put it that way.” Hilda replied. “We’ve already finished our scout activity.” Hilda followed her mum upstairs and into their apartment.

  
“Whew… what a day.” Hilda sighed.

  
“How’d it go?” Johanna asked.

  
“It went amazingly. We collected beautiful shoots from flowers known as the Glistening Flower.” Hilda explained.

  
“I know those flowers. I remember when a sprout grew in my hands on a night of a full moon.” Johanna replied.

  
“Really? How much light came out?” Hilda inquired.

  
“Not much.” Johanna replied with a less than happy tone in her voice. “It was just a little flash that lasted a few seconds.”

  
“But it was nice, right?” Hilda inquired.

  
“Yeah, but… it wasn’t as nice as I had hoped.” Johanna answered.

The conversation continued into the night as Tontu joined them, offering tea. But sooner or later, they’d go to bed. After Hilda turned out the lights, she kept thinking about what the Librarian told her. So first thing in the morning, she’d go straight to the Library.

* * *

  
The next morning…

  
The sun shining through her window woke Hilda up. Recalling her thoughts last night, she got up quickly and did her morning routine.

  
During her routine, Alfur left the clock house he stayed in all the time. But when he saw Hilda awake, he tried getting her attention. “Hilda!” Alfur called out. “Hilda!”

  
“What is it, Alfur?” Hilda answered.

  
“I have something important to tell you.” Alfur began. Hilda stopped dead in her tracks and listened to Alfur. “You see, last night, I was writing a paper about nights in Trolberg. I was looking out the window while doing so.” Alfur’s tiny little legs were trembling.

  
“Yeah, that’s important. Knowing what happens at-” Hilda replied.

  
“Yes, but that’s not the point.” Alfur interrupted. “There was this gigantic creature that appeared in front of the window. It had wings and red glowing eyes. It was looking at you as you slept.

  
This matched exactly what Hilda and David saw. Wearing an intrigued look, she looked to the window for a moment. “Thanks for the intel, Alfur. Now I gotta go.” She said.

  
“But wait! I haven’t explained everything!” Alfur called, but Hilda couldn’t hear him as she ran off and closed the door. She ate breakfast as fast as she could and headed off.

* * *

  
Trolberg Streets - The Library?

  
Hilda dashed through the streets until she approached the Library. But what she saw surprised her.

  
Many Trolberg Safety Patrol troops and Fire Trucks surrounded the library with barricade tape blocking the front door. Many Trolberg citizens were there too. David and Frida included. Once Hilda noticed them, she ran over. “What happened?” She asked.

  
“Something attacked the Library and nearly destroyed it.” Frida explained.

  
“When did this happen?”

“They say it was in the middle of the night, and no one knows who or what did it.” David explained.

  
“Is the Librarian alright?” Hilda asked.

  
“She’s fine. No worse for the wear.” Frida answered. “Look! She’s over there.” Hilda, once she saw the Librarian, ran over to her. She was simply staring at the wrecked Library, and when Hilda approached her and before she could say anything, she handed Hilda a single sheet of paper.

  
“Wh-what’s this?” Hilda asked.

  
“This is all I could save from the book you needed.” The Librarian answered.

  
“But… what happened?”

  
“Some fearsome creature got into the library and trashed the place. Then there was a fire. Nobody knows what caused it.” The Librarian explained.

  
Hilda examined the sheet of paper, then toward the Library, wondering what kind of fiend would do something like this. Saying nothing, the Librarian walked off and vanished into the crowd. Hilda would’ve followed her, but she was called back by her friends.

  
“What’d she give you?” David asked. Hilda began reading the paper she was given.

  
“It’s a creature profile.” Hilda answered.

  
“A creature profile? Of what?” Frida inquired.

  
“The Moth-man.” Hilda answered.

  
“Moth-man?!” David exclaimed.

  
“Follow me.” Hilda gestured

* * *

  
Hilda’s Apartment

  
The two followed Hilda until they reached her house. They all rushed inside and flopped onto the couch. Mum had already left for work that morning. On their way there, Hilda had explained what she had on that profile. It took them some time to process this information.

  
“So it wasn’t a nightmare at all.” David remarked.

  
“Looks like it.” Frida agreed. “You and Hilda both saw it for yourselves if I’m not mistaken.”

  
While Frida and David continued thinking, Hilda carefully read each word on the page in greater detail.

  
“It says here that a creature that is described with large wings and very bright red eyes cannot be other than the moth-man." Hilda explained.

  
“Is that a bad thing?” David wondered.

  
“It doesn’t say.” Hilda replied. “But what it does say is that when this creature appears, it’s an omen for disaster.”

  
“Disaster?” Frida inquired. “You mean, if it appears again, there will be more?”

  
“Well, if it says that, there might be if it appears again.” David said. “Could the Library have been the Moth-man’s doing?”

  
“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. I have a feeling we don’t know all we need to know.” Hilda reminded.

  
“But if it is, is there any way to get it to go away?” David continued.

  
“Ummm… it doesn’t say anything about that.” Hilda answered. “But it does have a weakness. According to this, a bright light can stun it for a moment, and then it follows the light until it reaches it.”

  
“So, this helps us how?” Frida interjected. But her question was answered with silence. Coming up with an answer was hard for all three of them.

  
“Sorry to interrupt, but, may I try to help?” A voice called out.

  
“Who said that?” David gasped, looking around.

  
“It’s just me, Alfur.” Alfur introduced. “Now, back to the topic at hand. Since you were so hasty to leave, I couldn’t tell you the rest of what I knew.”

  
“The rest?” Frida inquired.

  
“Oh, yes.” Hilda began. “When I woke up, he told me he saw the Moth-man through the window. But I was in a hurry to get to the Library, so I didn’t hear all he had to say. Sorry about that, Alfur.”

  
“It doesn’t matter. We’re all in a bit of a hurry.” Alfur continued. “When the Moth-man was there, I could hear him say a few words.”

  
“What’d he say?” Frida asked.

  
“It can talk?” Hilda wondered.

  
“He said, ‘It’s really cold out here.’” Alfur quoted. “I heard it clearly.”

  
“Now that you mention it, it did get pretty cold last night.” David pointed out.

  
“Anyways, that profile you have there. Did it help you come up with an idea on how to deal with this Moth-man?” Alfur asked.

  
“Hmm… I’ve got it!” Hilda exclaimed. “First, could you guys get off the couch real quick?” With a hint of confusion, David and Frida moved aside, and Hilda looked toward the cushions. “Hey! Tontu, could you come out, please?”

  
A few seconds later, the nisse emerged from the sofa with a cup of coffee. “Isn’t it a little early for board games?” Tontu snarked.

  
“Alright, now that we’re all here, we can discuss my plan since we need all the help we can get.” Hilda began. “We know we can stun the Moth-man with bright light, so tonight, we meet at the Huldrawood. There, we hide in close proximity to one another. Once one of us sees him, that person will shine their flashlight toward him. Once he darts toward that person, another one of us shines their own flashlight at him and the previous person turns their’s off. You follow?”

  
“Yeah.” Frida answered.

  
“Alright, so we repeat that strategy until Twig sets off a trap. Then I’ll talk to the Moth-man.” Hilda finished.

  
Hilda’s plan left some doubt to the others at first, but after some thought, they decided it was the best idea they could come up with. They spent the rest of the day considering how their plan would be executed.

* * *

  
The Huldrawood - Sunset

As soon as the sun began to set, they left for the Huldrawood and arrived at the entrance by sundown. “Alright, now that we’re here, any further questions?” Hilda inquired. The group looked uneasy at first, but they eventually shook their heads and entered with Hilda. They came with flashlights and spare batteries.

  
Soon, they found an ideal hiding spot with a good line of sight. David hid in a bush next to Alfur. Frida on top of a small tree, hidden in the leaves. Tontu inside a log on the ground. And Hilda at the center, setting a trap. It was an old floodlight that David’s dad had in storage. It ran off an external power source and gave off a considerable light.

  
Once Hilda finished setting it up, she hid behind a tree. The controls were a bit of a ways away, so Twig kept tabs on it.

  
The minutes went by as the night fell. The cloudy skies obscured any moon or stars, so aside from the slightest light pollution, the sky was virtually pitch black. Hilda reached for her flashlight, but after pulling it out of her satchel, she saw the sprout she collected the other day. She was surprised to see it still in there. She could’ve sworn she took it out hours ago.

  
She took it out of her bag, soon noticing that it began to turn green. This surprised Hilda, until she turned to look up at the tree which now also bore a green hue. Alarmed, Hilda turned around. From behind some bushes came the voices of teenagers. 

  
Knowing what it was, Hilda turned back to face the sky. Moments passed… until a powerful gust of wind blew by. “It’s here!” Hilda thought to herself. Alfur, in the bush, watched as a large creature arrived.

  
“David, on my mark, turn on your flashlight.” Alfur instructed.

  
“Alright.” David acknowledged nervously, trembling slightly.

  
The Moth-man was suddenly about to touch down. “Now!” Alfur yelled. Going against his fear, David hit the button and shut his eyes tightly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the very same creature that was at his window. Only this time, he could see it clearly.

  
It took a bit for the Moth-man to turn toward him. David let out a yelp before turning off his flashlight shortly before the Moth-man darted for him. In response, Tontu turned his flashlight on, causing the creature to stop and turn to him.

  
When it darted for his light, he turned his flashlight off and hid behind the log. Frida sprang into action and lit her flashlight. Hilda’s plan was working. She just had to light the floodlight. It would take a bit to turn on. Meanwhile, the Moth-man flew in Frida’s direction, who then turned off her flashlight.

  
In response, Hilda turned her flashlight on. Now the Moth-man darted for her. When it got close, Hilda tried turning off her flashlight. But it wouldn’t turn off! “Wh-what?!” Hilda shrieked, repeatedly pressing the button to turn it off, but it wouldn’t work.

  
“David! Flashlight!” Frida called as she turned on her’s, with David following suit. But it did nothing to attract the Moth-man’s attention, whom continued to encroach upon Hilda, who resorted to removing the batteries from her flashlight to turn it off. But the moment after she did, their flashlights suddenly fizzled out.

  
“What?! No! The batteries can’t die now!” Frida cried. But now that it was completely dark, the Moth-man took a few steps from Hilda soon before noticing a light source in the distance. It was the all too familiar green flame of the Marra behind a small hill.

  
As Hilda watched the Moth-man dart toward the green light and begin to chase some of the Marras into the air, with others hiding in the bushes nearby, she carefully reinstalled the batteries into her flashlight so she wouldn’t lose them. … but that was probably a mistake since her flashlight came right back on.

  
Getting alerted by the light, it turned back to Hilda, ignoring the Marras, letting them get away, and darting straight for Hilda. She tried to jam the button to turn it back off, but it wouldn’t work. Before she could remove the batteries again, the Moth-man landed right in front of her and looked on her with its red eyes. It encroached upon Hilda until she was backed up against the floodlight.

  
“Hey, bug man! Get over here!” A voice suddenly yelled.

  
The Moth-man turned to face the voice. It was a Marra which then made the green flame increase in size. In response, the Moth-man flew toward the fire and looked at it in a trance. But the fire began to extinguish after a while. Once the fire was weak enough, the next brightest thing was the Marra’s glowing green eyes.

  
Now the Marra was in for it. The monster began to approach her with the latter backing away. Seeing this, Hilda tried to point her flashlight at the Moth-man, but it didn’t seem to do any good. It was tightly focused on the Marra.

  
Suddenly, the entire forest began to light up. Hilda looked above to see that the moon was emerging from the clouds. And in Hilda’s offhand, the flower sprout, she witnessed something unexpected. A bright light began emanating from it, illuminating the whole forest.

  
The Moth-man, noticing the huge light behind the Marra, turned to face it. And the Marra was surprised to see something so bright in Hilda’s hand. The light from the sprout shone brighter and brighter, until it was so bright, it illuminated the entire forest in a sun-like glow. David, Frida, and the others covered their eyes.

  
The Moth-man slowly made its way over to Hilda, it could hardly see through such a bright light. Luckily for it, the light began to fade over time. It soon got to a point where it was still bright, but it was no longer blinding. Everyone uncovered their eyes.

  
The creature, noticing the smaller light now, looked toward Hilda.

  
“Listen to me, Mr. Mothman.” Hilda began calmly. “I want to talk to you.”

  
The creature tilted its head to the side, seeming as if to be confused that anyone would want to speak to it.

  
“What is it that you wish to talk about?” The Moth-man suddenly said, surprising everyone. Its voice was deep enough to sound eerily similar to Jorgen, but a bit more intimidating.

  
“The Library. Was that your doing?” Hilda asked.

  
“No.” The Moth-man answered.

  
“Then… what are you doing in this city?” Hilda continued.

  
“I’ve come to warn you.” The Moth-man answered.

  
“‘Warn us’?” Hilda tilted her head.

  
“Yes. To clarify, I do not cause disaster nor intend or like to do that.” The Moth-man continued. “The moon foresees unspeakable danger that’s approaching this city. I fear that the Library was only the first of many.”

  
“What kind of danger?”

  
“Horrific monsters and events.” Moth-man answered. “My duty is to warn people with my presence. It’s the only way they’ll know something terrible will happen.”

  
“Oh. Sorry for thinking you were an evil creature.” Hilda apologized.

  
“I forgive you. You aren’t the only one.”

  
“And, thank you for caring about us.” Hilda continued.

  
“There is no need to be thankful. It is our job to look out for you.” The Moth-man replied, looking toward the moon.

  
“It’s fine, that’s all we needed to know.”

  
The creature nodded, and then took off into the night. Hilda smiled, knowing that once again, a mysterious creature that she partly considered to be a threat was actually a good creature. Meanwhile, the Marra also stared toward the sky, then soon turned around and began to walk away.

  
“Hey. Wait!” Hilda called.

  
Surprised, the Marra turned to face the blue-haired girl. “Y-yeah? What’s up?”

  
“Thanks… for your help.” Hilda stammered.

  
“W-well, thank you too.”

  
Hilda tilted her head.

  
“Well, if it weren’t for you and that flower of yours, I wouldn’t have been able to get away from that creature.” The Marra continued. “There was no telling what it was gonna do to me.”

  
“Yeah… and… sorry about going after you like that.” Hilda apologized.

  
“It’s fine. No way you could’ve known. And I always stick to my word, by the way.” The Marra gave a genuine smile, with Hilda returning one. Then the Marra poofed into mist and flew off.

  
Hilda then looked to the sky, watching the Moth-man fly across the moon. Behind her, her friends were approaching, with Twig to arrive by her side first. “You alright, Hilda?” Alfur asked.

  
“Yeah, no worse for the wear.” Hilda answered. “But… will it stay that way for all of us?”

  
Moth-man’s words echoed… “I fear that the Library was only the first of many.”

* * *

**To be continued…**


End file.
